And In The Darkness Bind Them
by Wedjatqi
Summary: John is mysteriously injured which heralds the onslaught of a deadly ancient enemy. Set in S5, mild spoilers only, JT. COMPLETE. The First part of my Light and Darkness trilogy
1. Chapter 1

**Spoilers**: Mild S5 spoilers (e.g baby name, Kanaan's state).

**Disclaimers**: I own no part of the Stargate world, I make no money etc…..

--

"Where are you going?"

Teyla turned from the door, Torren settled happily in her arms. "I am going to see Colonel Sheppard." She explained.

A light frown creased Kanaan's forehead. "I thought you went to see him this morning?"

"Yes, but I thought I would visit him again this evening and take Torren down there as well." She pre-empted her lover's next question by adding "Doctor Keller says it is good for him to hear all of our familiar voices as often as possible and I want to speak to Doctor Keller anyway."

"About Colonel Sheppard?" Kanaan asked. She frowned at his continuing questions.

"Yes, but she is also my friend and I wish to speak with her." She allowed some of the annoyance she was now feeling to show through her tone.

Kanaan sighed lightly and looked away from where he sat on the end of his bed, the now empty spare crib beside him. She waited for him to express what was bothering him, though she suspected she already knew.

"Before, I was aware of your affection for the Colonel, you never hid that from me."

"He is my friend." She stated.

Kanaan looked up at her. "But he is more than that; he is a team mate….and a man you admitted you had once felt strong feelings for."

Teyla moved away from the door towards him. "Nothing has ever happened between myself and Colonel Sheppard and it will not."

"Because he expressed no interest in you." Kanaan replied, remaining seated as she stood over him with their child in her arms.

"Kanaan, what is this about?" She pressed, unwilling to directly answer his question.

He sighed again. "It just seems that you are visiting him a lot."

"Would you prefer that I ignore him and forget that he is unconscious and may never awaken?" She asked angry. Torren stirred uncomfortably in her arms in response to her changing mood. She rubbed a comforting hand against Torren's back, but kept her anger in full play for Kanaan to see.

"No, Teyla." Kanaan replied looking away from her angry eyes down to Torren shifting in her arms. "It is just that the doctors are not hopeful that he will ever recover. I do not wish to see you upset."

Her anger dimmed slightly, but did not die out completely as she refused to allow herself to think that John may be lost to them forever. "There is always hope, Kanaan. And if I and the rest of our team and friends have to sit by John every day for a year to help him return, then we shall do so."

Kanaan nodded.

"Do not forget that it was the determination of these people, Kanaan, who saved both of us from Michael. They saved all of our people."

"Those of us that remain."

"That is not their fault, Kanaan."

"Did they not create Michael?" Kanaan pushed with more determination than she had seen in him before.

"Yes initially. They made a mistake in what they did, but it was Michael who made his own choices after that, not these people. They did not make him the creature he has become; that was by his own hand."

Torren shifted and grumbled now in her arms. Kanaan reached out and caught one of his son's hands and made a comforting sound for the child. Then he lifted his eyes to hers. "He would not have done that had they not interfered with him genetically."

Teyla could barely believe what she was hearing. "How can you say that after what he did to you, and to our people? What he was going to do with Torren?"

"I am not saying I approve of him, Teyla. I am only stating that these people hold some blame."

"They saved us, saved our son and you blame them?"

Kanaan sighed, stood and walked several paces away. "No, Teyla. Michael was a vicious creature, but these people from Earth…. Yes they saved us, but from a problem that they themselves created."

"Are we then to blame them for a mistake they made years ago? These people are like family to me."

Kanaan strode closer. "We are your family. Your people are your family."

Teyla bounced Torren in her arms as he grumbled quietly. "What are you trying to say, Kanaan?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he studied her. "I am concerned about our son growing up here."

"In Atlantis?"

"Yes. How many times has this city been attacked? And besides…some of us miss having our own home. We miss the open air and forests of our home."

"A home from which you were all snatched from in the middle of the night? Michael may still be out there, Kanaan. He wants Torren. Torren is safer here."

His eyes dropped to her arms again, studying his son. Finally he nodded. "Perhaps you are right, for now."

Teyla stepped closer to him. "Kanaan, these are good people, you must see that."

"I do, but they draw destruction to them like light draws insects at night."

She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "I know what you are saying holds some truth, but I still feel this is the best place for us, for our son. These are good people and I believe they are the best chance we have to bring an end to the Wraith and to Michael's plans."

Kanaan offered her a small smile. "Your dreams are as large as theirs."

She smiled and dropped her hand from his arm. "I will be back from the Infirmary soon, we can talk about this some more when I return."

Kanaan nodded, but she suspected he would not bring up the conversation again.

--

The Infirmary was quieter in the evenings, unless there was a crisis of some description. Tonight there was no such crisis, and Teyla saw that only a couple of beds were occupied. She slipped into the room and headed towards the far end to the isolated beds.

As she approached the last curtained off bed she could hear the bleeps of the machines and the rushing sound of the ventilator. The sounds were as rhythmic as always, telling her before she saw him that nothing had changed.

She rounded the curtain and John came into view. He was still too pale, lying on his back completely still except for the slight rising and falling of his chest. During the first few days of his coma she had sat here for hours watching that simple rising and falling of his chest, praying that it would continue, fighting her fear that it would stop. Two weeks had passed and there had been no change. But, it would not stop her from having hope and doing what little she could for her friend.

"Hello, John." She said in a low voice as she arrived at his side. "I have brought Torren John here to see you again. He is doing very well, though he still insists on being walked to sleep which is rather tiring."

She pulled up a chair and sat down by his shoulder, leaning forward to look at his face. "Rodney told me he has been keeping you up to date with what has been happening with the city. He may not have told you that he has been spending a lot of time with Doctor Keller lately. I suspect that she returns his feelings."

She paused and simply studied his pale unconscious face. It was clear that his spirit was completely absent, his body relaxed to the point of death, his mind shut down to the most minimum of brain waves. Her eyes lifted to the device measuring those readings and as usual saw a low steady level. On impulse she reached out and stroked a lock of hair from his forehead. His skin was cool beneath her fingers.

"Please come back to us, John." She whispered.

--

_Two weeks previously_

The twin suns burned down over the Ancient site. Rodney stood up from his tablet that was connected into the Ancient device set into the base of what they were colourfully calling 'The Altar'. He looked up at the bright yellow suns high up in the sky. He knew the radiation they were sending down on them wouldn't be too harmful, but it never hurt to be cautious. The back of his neck was itching intensely, but whether that was due to the heavy application of his latest version of sunscreen, or from the simple build up of heat under his collar he couldn't be sure. Maybe it would be best to take a break.

He headed through the rest of the stone ruins, passing various archaeologists and members of his science team. He scowled down at the work being done, but didn't stop to correct anyone. He would get to them after he had cooled down.

Around him the air shimmered with the heat caught within the stone basin which housed the Ancient ruins. A large outcropping of stone provided the only shade this side of the basin and underneath it Rodney found Sheppard enjoying the coolness. Typical.

"Shouldn't you be out patrolling or something?" Rodney asked.

"Nice to see you too, McKay." Sheppard returned.

Rodney reached into the chilled box and pulled out a fresh bottle of water. As he twisted off the cap and lifted it to his thirsty lips he regarded his friend.

"Remind me again why you volunteered to 'babysit us scientists'?"

Sheppard turned to him, his sunglasses still on for some reason. "Beats doing paperwork."

"Did you have to bring Ronon along though? He's getting angsty."

Sheppard smiled. "He needed some time out of the city. Things have been a little too quiet for him of late."

"How can it be a bad thing when there's no alien around the next corner ready to kill us?" Rodney asked, though he knew the answer; if there was no trouble now that only meant it was on its way. And who knew when it would arrive!

Sheppard turned back to watching the scientists working out in the sun. Rodney took the opportunity to study his friend more closely. He longed to ask, but didn't. Something about John Sheppard had changed over the past couple of months. He appeared more distant and had been spending a lot more hours on duty. At first Rodney had thought it was due to Woolsey's presence as their new Base Commander, but he was beginning to suspect it was something else. Rodney had never been any good at reading people emotionally, or in any way to be honest, but he felt he knew John well enough now to read him. And something was wrong. Rodney suspected he knew the reason, but had no idea how to broach the subject. He considered talking to Ronon about it, but hadn't yet built up the nerve. And what could they do anyway if he was right? Talking about it wouldn't make Kanaan leave Atlantis.

"I'd better get back to that patrolling." John said abruptly ending the silence. Rodney wondered if he had known what Rodney had been thinking. No that was stupid.

"Okay. Don't trip over anything important." was all Rodney could think to say, hoping to lift the Colonel's mood. John gave him a half smile and headed off towards the entrance to the tunnel system that surrounded the ruins, dug into the stone basin walls. Rodney didn't envy him that job, the tunnels were fascinating in that they contained a wealth of hidden Ancient tech, but they were enclosing. After being trapped in an underground room suspended over an abyss a few months back his claustrophobia had reinserted itself with a vengeance. He would choose the bright hot open space outside over the dark twisting tunnels any day.

With one last swig of water he tucked the bottle into his pocket and stepped back out into the suns' heat. He reached down to point to an obviously incorrectly attached lead to a newbie member of the team when his radio crackled to life.

"McKay?" Sheppard called.

Rodney touched his ear piece activating his side of the radio connection. "What?"

"Umm, you might want to…." The connection died abruptly.

"Say again." Rodney asked. After a beat he straightened up from the scientist, his hand floating up to his ear piece. "Sheppard? Sheppard come in."

There was no response from the other end. Fear kicked Rodney squarely in his gut. The next crisis had found them already.

"Anyone seen Sheppard? He'd just started his patrol of the tunnels." Rodney was already heading towards the entrance through which he had seen Sheppard disappear only minutes before. "Ronon?"

"On my way." Ronon practically shouted back over the radio. Rodney knew without seeing him that Ronon would have his heavy stun gun out and raised ready.

Rodney approached the entrance to the tunnels and peered inside. "Sheppard?" He called out loudly, wondering if his friend's radio had simply broken. "Can you hear me?" Nothing came back; he was going to have to go in. "Ronon, where are you?"

"I'm at the far entrance. We'll head in from both directions." Ronon ordered back.

Rodney swore quietly and plunged into the darkness of the tunnels his side arm raised. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and the coolness of the stone around him was a welcome break from the heat, but right now he didn't really care. Stepping cautiously, but as quickly as he could, he walked into the darkness alone.

"Sheppard?" He called in a loud whisper. What if something was waiting for him round the next corner ready to eat him?

To his right up ahead he saw the carved entrance to one of the many rooms cut into the solid stone. As he reached the doorway he lifted his weapon and handheld light as he had been taught and as he had seen John and Ronon do so many times before. He peered into the room quickly and his eyes instantly fell to the shape of John lying flat out in the centre of the room.

"I've found him in the first room from this end of the tunnels." Rodney whispered into his radio. "He looks unconscious." He peered cautiously back into the room and scanned the corners quickly. Satisfied that there wasn't anything about to jump out at him in the room he stepped quickly in towards Sheppard. "I think we're gonna need a medic." He called into his radio.

He dropped down beside his friend and turned him over onto his back. "Sheppard? Can you hear me?"

--

"What happened to him?" Woolsey asked.

Jennifer stood beside him at the end of the Colonel's bed and sighed. "He shows no signs of any physical injury. His blood tests show nothing out of the ordinary." Mr Woolsey turned to her and lifted an eyebrow. "In short we don't know." She clarified sheepishly. She hated this. She was a Doctor and it was her job to treat Colonel Sheppard, but she couldn't do that if there was no case for her to treat.

"Why is he unconscious?" Teyla asked anxiously from her other side.

Jennifer turned to the three people who were closest to the Colonel. Rodney couldn't stop staring at the bed and Ronon looked silently angry.

"He appears to be in a very deep coma. He is barely breathing by himself, which is why we have hooked him up to a ventilator and I have attached a saline IV with a full spectrum antibiotic, though there are no obvious signs of any kind of infection. Other than that there isn't much else we can do for him." She said professionally, but as softly as possible.

All three turned to her then, perhaps hearing what she wasn't saying. "How long could the coma last?" Teyla asked for them.

Jennifer looked down at the test results displayed on the tablet in her hand, as if there might be some new answer there. There was none of course so she looked back to their worried eyes. "To be honest we have no way of knowing. He may come out of it in a day, a week, maybe longer. Maybe never."

--

_Three weeks later._

Teyla tucked Torren John down into his crib, and took a moment to stroke over his soft hair. He smiled up at her and blinked slowly as he slipped happily into sleep. Teyla watched him for a few moments longer and finally pulled her touch away from her sleeping son.

She turned and headed over to her bed. She slowly and methodically pulled away the blankets, rearranged the pillows and climbed between the cool sheets, laid back and settled as best as she could.

Kanaan was sleeping in his own quarters tonight, as he had done most nights over the past week. His hurtful words last week about the people of Atlantis still rang in her ears. She knew he was still emotionally wounded from his cruel treatment from Michael, but she could not help feeling unsettled by his words. She feared there might have been some truth in his words; that Atlantis may not be the safest place for Torren to grow up. But, where else would be safer, and here he was surrounded with people who loved and cared for Torren and for her.

Perhaps it was that Kanaan did not fit in here in Atlantis. Though he had lived here years ago as had all the Athosians following the destruction of Old Athos, he did not seem comfortable here. Perhaps that was still part of his recovery; to become settled and comfortable again. That all those who were returned had been kept isolated on the mainland for far longer than they felt necessary had not helped. Many of her people had confessed to her that they felt as trapped here in Atlantis as they had been with Michael. It was a reaction to their changed circumstances she suspected, but it was still hurtful. For in rejecting Atlantis and the people from Earth, she felt in some strange way that Kanaan was also rejecting her, or a part of her.

Perhaps it would be wise for her people to leave Atlantis, but where would be safe for them with Michael out there still? He would no doubt have the means to find them and would begin his experiments on them again. And he might use them to get to Torren. The thought terrified her more than anything ever had before.

She turned onto her side so she could see her son sleeping in his crib. She watched his little chest rising and falling with each breath and her thoughts floated to John down in the Infirmary. She was sure he would come out of his coma, but in truth it was a hopeful wish more than truthful fact. What if he never regained consciousness? What if he wasted away completely? Already she could see that he had lost so much of his muscle mass and his face was drawn and so very pale.

At the tears that threatened to build she shook her head and leant up to blow out the last remaining candles by her bed. The room plunged into darkness. She lay back down onto her side and listened to the distant sound of the waves outside and the soft steady breathing of Torren.

Something did not feel right. She looked around the dark room, instinctively looking for something. The room was completely empty, only full of heavy shadows. Teyla's eyes were drawn to the deepest darkest corner of the room, looking deep into the impenetrable darkness.

The Infirmary was dark and empty. No nurses were on duty and all the beds were empty as she entered. Everything was quiet except for the steady bleeping of the machines and the soft rushing sound of the ventilator across the room, from behind the curtains.

Where was everyone? Teyla stepped cautiously into the room, her eyes searching the corners for any clues. All the lights were off, and she realised the emergency lighting was on. The strange coloured lights themselves were too dim, their light suppressed and contained somehow, so that the darkness of the room felt oppressive and almost like a weight against her skin.

The only light she could make out clearly was the light from behind the curtains surrounding John's bed. She moved slowly towards John's bed, feeling like something was watching her from the gloom around her. Instinctively she turned so her back was to the wall and she made her way very cautiously towards the curtains and the bleeping of the machines.

She finally reached the nearest curtain surrounding John and pulled it back quickly, hoping to spill the light within out into the Infirmary. However, the light did not. She turned surprised to find that the small area around John's bed was surrounded by a thin wall that though mostly invisible was clearly defined by the light filling the inside around John and the gloom pressed up against the outside. Confused she reached up to touch the strange barrier, but heard a shifting twitching sound from behind her.

Spinning round she scanned the darkness, but again there was nothing to be seen except the thickening gloom. But, she was sure something, or things, were watching her now. On the edge of her hearing she could almost make out strange noises that could almost have been animal sounds. The air seemed to be getting thicker around her, the light dimming even further and she was struggling to draw in fresh air as she breathed.

Beginning to panic Teyla stepped back, her back coming up against the barrier surrounding John's bed. She leant back against it and then suddenly fell backwards through it. She stumbled managing to stay on her feet, and the light and clear air surrounded her in a rush. She drew in the clear air, her head clearing as she looked up at the barrier, now from the inside and saw the thick darkness, like a heavy fog pressing against it from outside. She watched it for a few anxious moments, but it appeared the barrier was holding.

Treading carefully backwards, keeping her eyes on the barrier she made her way around the side of John's bed. She turned her eyes to his face to see that he was no longer connected to the ventilator or IV. The sudden silence from the constant bleeping of the machines was abrupt and shocked her more than the threatening darkness outside. He was now dressed in his usual black uniform, the thin hospital gown gone. She leant down over him, but saw that his face was still pale and absent of any signs of consciousness.

"John?" She whispered.

She reached out and touched her hand to his bare arm where it rested on the bed. His eyes snapped open and he reached up grabbing her by her arms and thrusted his face up to within mere inches from hers.

"They're coming, Teyla!" He shouted panicked.

Then as suddenly as he had moved, he fell back to the bed, unconscious once again.

Teyla snapped awake, her heart thundering in her chest and gasping for breath. Panting and panicked beyond reason she stumbled up from her bed and reached for the light controls. The lights slid on instantly, filling the room with bright shining light. Teyla rushed to Torren's crib, and pressed her back against the wall. Torren, woken by the lights and possibly also by her panic, began to grumble and then burst out into a full cry.

With her son's cries echoing through the room, she watched the room around her, seeking out the gloom, the darkness, and the sounds she had heard in her dream.

--

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

--

Nurse Grace enjoyed the early morning shift in the Infirmary. She had to get up early, but at least she was able to sleep at night, unlike those on the night shift. Apparently the night shift had been uneventful, which hopefully meant the early shift would be as well. She opened the drugs cabinet and began the morning inventory of all the medications.

Across the empty room something echoed briefly. She paused and straightened up from where she had been leaning into the cabinet. She listened for a few moments, but heard nothing else. It was probably nothing, but in this place you never ignored anything and she felt concerned for some reason. Locking the cabinet securely she headed through to the beds, her eyes passing over the one occupant of a bed, who had nasty stomach flu. He was fast sleep, assisted by his medication.

She headed towards the isolated area and briefly stepped around the curtain. She doubted the sound came from here. The Colonel was in a deep coma and besides the steady bleeping of the BP monitor indicated the constant low BP rate he had been in since he had been brought in here three weeks ago.

However, when she was shocked to see that the Colonel was no longer lying on his back, but slumped onto his side. She hurried over to him, quickly checking the ventilator connection and the IV. Fortunately neither had been dislodged. How had he moved?

"Grace to Nurse Mitchell." She called into her radio.

"Everything alright, Grace?" Nurse Mitchell responded. "Please don't tell me I'm needed back in, I was just about to get into bed."

"Did you move Colonel Sheppard?" Grace asked.

"What?! No. Why?"

"He's on his side. Doctor Keller this is Nurse Grace please respond."

--

Jennifer rushed into the Infirmary to the sound of near hysterical baby crying. A small circle of Nurses were gathered around Colonel Sheppard's bed and Teyla was pacing nearby, rocking Torren and looking pale and worried.

"Are you alright, Teyla?" Jennifer asked as she approached, pulling on surgical gloves.

She nodded, but her eyes went swiftly back to the Colonel's bed. Happy Teyla didn't need her services immediately; she pushed through the curtain to the Colonel's side. "What happened?"

"I found him in this position. His readings are the same. The ventilator and IVs were still attached." Nurse Grace responded.

Nurse Mitchell who looked very tired stood by her side. "When I left ten minutes previously he hadn't moved."

Jennifer turned to the monitors attached to the Colonel. "Pull up the readings record for the last hour, please."

"I thought I heard something briefly and came to investigate." Nurse Grace explained.

Behind them Torren was calming slightly, but his cries still echoed through the Infirmary. Jennifer tuned out the crying as best as she could as she ran through checking the Colonel. Nothing had changed; he was still in a deep coma.

"Look at this Doctor Keller." Nurse Mitchell handed her the past readings from the Colonel's monitors.

"What the…?" Jennifer muttered.

"What is it?" Teyla asked from the end of the bed, over Torren's cries.

Jennifer was about to ask Teyla why she was here, when the Infirmary doors opened and Mr Woolsey and Rodney entered, both looking bleary eyed.

"Report." Woolsey commanded. Jennifer pushed aside her instant annoyance at the man's brisk entrance.

"Colonel Sheppard moved onto his side. Why are you here?"

Woolsey turned to Teyla beside him, his eyes dropping briefly to the crying Torren.

"I called them. Colonel Sheppard appeared to me in a dream with a warning that something dangerous is coming. And now he has moved despite his coma."

Jennifer saw the doubt on Woolsey's face plainly, but he quickly looked over to her. She suspected that only the fact that something unusual had happened with the Colonel prevented him completely disregarding Teyla's story out of hand.

"The records show there was a massive burst of brain activity from the Colonel about fifteen minutes ago."

"Which would have been when I woke." Teyla supplied, as she began to pace up and down again jiggling Torren. It was obvious to Jennifer that the child was responding to his mother's agitation and she had to admit seeing Teyla so thrown off centre worried her as well.

"How is the Colonel now?" Woolsey asked.

"I will repeat all his tests, but it appears that he has returned to his previous comatose state."

Woolsey pondered her words for a moment. "Do the tests you need to Doctor. We will all reconvene in one hour in the conference room. Is that enough time for you Doctor?"

"Yes, other than the blood work, but I will try to rush it through."

"Very well. One hour everybody." Woolsey stated as he turned, his eyes dropping briefly to the still crying Torren and he exited quickly.

--

With Torren safely with Kanaan, Teyla had headed up to the meeting and described her dream in as much detail as she could. Throughout Mr Woolsey maintained a deep frown and made the odd note down on his notepad.

"And you believe that it was in fact Colonel Sheppard attempting to warn you?" He asked once she was finished.

"This is not the first time someone has appeared to me in a dream." She replied.

"Ah, you are perhaps referring to your messages from Kanaan that were in fact Michael?" He asked, his tone full of doubt and grave concern.

"Yes. Those visions were real." Teyla stated clearly for him and for anyone else in doubts around the table.

"That may be true, however as I understand it Michael was able to contact you via your genetic connection, your Wraith gene? You do not have any such connection with Colonel Sheppard though. How can you be sure it was really him and not Michael again?"

"It was not Michael I am sure of it."

"You were sure it was Kanaan last time according to your own report on the incidence."

"I know that, but now I would recognise how Michael's mind would feel. I know this was Colonel Sheppard."

Woolsey frowned even more deeply.

"Why would Michael send a warning message anyway?" Major Lorne asked from across the table, where John usually sat.

"Perhaps to unnerve us." Woolsey suggested.

"It worked." Doctor Keller muttered from down the end of the table.

Beside her Rodney looked round at her with concerned eyes and they shared a worried small smile.

"It wasn't Michael." Teyla reiterated again.

All eyes returned to hers. She could see that her friends believed her. After all they knew what had happened with Michael.

"For now then, let's assume it was not Michael." Woolsey cut into the silence. "And that Colonel Sheppard was trying to warn us. Have you performed a scan of the city?" He asked Rodney.

"Nothing." Rodney replied.

"I think it might be wise then to increase security around the city, especially in the Gate Room, Major." Woolsey told Lorne.

The Major nodded. "I'll get on that now." At Woolsey's nod he stood up from his chair and headed out of the room.

Once the doors slid shut again Ronon leant forward. "Then these 'things' may have attacked Sheppard."

"We can't jump to that conclusion." Woolsey cautioned.

"No, it would make sense." Rodney cut in. "If something attacked him back in those tunnels, it would make sense he would want to warn us about it."

"There was no sign of any kind of attack to the Colonel." Jennifer added.

"Other than he was in a coma. That might be how they attack." Rodney's voice grew more worried as he made the suggestion. "Maybe he was just the first and they're now coming for us!"

"Then why wait three weeks?" Woolsey asked.

"Maybe it's taken them that long to find us." Rodney answered.

"Following the Colonel's…accident did you find anything of interest in the room in which you found him?" Woolsey asked.

"There wasn't any writing left in that room, though there was evidence that there might have been some carvings and that there was once a door that sealed the room off, but it had all been removed a long time ago. The local peoples over an hour away have been plundering the site for building materials for years. Who knows what they may have taken. A 'do not under any circumstances enter this room' notice perhaps."

"Is there any chance those carvings may still be intact as part of the local's buildings?"

"We didn't think to check." Rodney answered slightly sarcastically.

"Then I'm sending you with an anthropologist and some of the archaeologists to go speak to these locals and see if you can find out anything else." Woolsey turned away from Rodney before the protests could begin and turned to Jennifer. "And the Colonel's condition?"

"He has returned to his former state; a deep comatose state. We have studied the readings of his brief change in brain waves, but to be honest it's a mess. It's like his brain burst into activity on all frequencies for a sudden moment and then he fell back into his coma. It may have been a random occurrence, or perhaps the brain's way of attempting to return to consciousness, I can't be sure."

"Let me know if there is any further change in his condition." Woolsey replied. "Other than that I do not see what else we can do."

"I would like to attempt to contact Colonel Sheppard again." Teyla interjected sensing the end of the meeting approaching.

"If you do, we could monitor both you and the Colonel; see if we can recreate what happened. It may give us some further insight in how to help him." Jennifer suggested.

Woolsey considered the idea. "Very well. Contact me if you discover anything new." And with that he stood up from the table officially drawing the meeting to a close.

--

Major Lorne stepped out onto the balcony, away from the bustle of the Control room and drew in the early morning air. Rodney and a small team of scientists had just left to see if they could dredge up some more information on what had happened to Colonel Sheppard and Lorne found himself deeply wishing he could have gone with them. If the Colonel was still up and about Lorne knew the Colonel would have sent him along, but instead Lorne had to stay behind and deal with the massive load of work. He hadn't realised how much work Colonel Sheppard actually did, the man always looked like he strolled through his days relaxed and in control. The amount of inventories and reports Lorne now had to handle made him just long for the Colonel to wake up. No, he wanted the Colonel back anyway. This place was a far darker place without him here.

He took another deep breath and silently watched the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. He watched the colours, mentally searching out which paints he would mix to replicate the beauty before him. He would never be able to recreate the real image, which was why he tended to stick to landscapes, not sunrises. He leant his elbows on the railing and looked down at the cityscape below him studying how the new sunlight hit the shapes and colours of the buildings.

His eyes followed the sweeping city below him out towards the pier to his right. An odd dark patch caught his eye, a shadowing where the light should be highlighting the angles of a lightly coloured tower. He shifted along the balcony, as if the slight change in distance would make it easier to see. He studied the building in question, looking for any outcropping that might create the shadow, but found none. So he looked up and away, wondering if something above was creating the shadow. After checking every possible angle he looked back worryingly at the unexplained shadow. Could it be a cloaked ship? But, then it wouldn't be creating a shadow. He could still see come details of the building through the darkness, but there was clearly deep shadows there when there shouldn't be any.

He lifted his hand towards his ear piece, considering how he should report this. He kept his eyes on the shadow and watched as it suddenly began to move. It spread out further along the building, moving like a rolling wave that was crawling over the lower tower.

"Mr Woolsey, this is Major Lorne. There's something you need to see." He stated into his radio.

--

Teyla removed her radio mike and drew her legs up under her on her chair. Jennifer drew the curtains closed around them, creating the illusion of privacy around John's bed. Teyla smiled up at her as she made her way over to John's monitors.

"Ready when you are." She told Teyla.

"Very well." Teyla replied and took a deep calming breath. She worked her breathing as she did every time she mediated, as she did when she needed to contact a Wraith mind. That thought momentarily distracted her, but she returned her mind's focus.

She kept her eyes on John's still form before her, fixing his image into her mind and then closed her eyes. She stilled, pulled herself into that deep still place inside and waited.

Nothing seemed to happen, so she sunk herself deeper, keeping John's image in her mind. She shifted her focus onto a memory of him when he was fit and well. They had spent an entire day together when both Rodney and Ronon had been injured. On restricted duty themselves they had filled their day with a long walk along a pier, some sparring, watched a movie and then visited their fellow team mates in the infirmary. It had been a very enjoyable day and she still remembered the warmth and ease of his presence that day. So now she focused on that memory, caught an image of him walking beside her along the pier in the bright sunlight. She filled the image with as much detail as she could; remembering how he smiled, the sparkle in his eyes, the warmth of his arm lightly brushing against hers, the light scent of his aftershave in the breeze. She pulled it all together and coloured the image of him with as much life as she could and called out to him with her mind.

Nothing happened. She kept the image strongly in her mind and called out to him again. A sound behind her distracted her for a moment. It was a small strange noise, like something scratching against leather. A sense of unease began to creep through her, the skin on the back of her neck tingled and she suddenly sensed that something was behind her and getting closer. In her mind she saw that gloom from her dream, felt it crawling slowly closer like an insect looking to sink its teeth in to the back of her neck. Her skin itched and realised she was in reality scratching at the back of her neck.

"Are you alright, Teyla?" She thought she heard Jennifer ask her from the real world, but she ignored it, and managed to pull her hand back down to her lap.

The gloom was closer now. It felt like it was right behind her. So, in her mind she stopped trying to reach John and turned her mind the other way, towards the approaching darkness. Skittering sounds echoed around her and that scratching sound again. She pressed forward and felt an odd familiarity to it. It almost felt like a Wraith mind, but not quite. She risked reaching out with her mind further seeking out the source from within the gloom, but as she did she realised that it was not one mind, but many. Suddenly she was aware of an entire army of minds all turned in her direction and she stumbled backwards away from them. She bumped up against the bed behind her and caught hold of John's hand.

"Stay in the light." John stated from beside her. She looked down at the warmth around her glowing hand and saw his hand around hers. She followed up his arm to see him standing next to her in his uniform fit and well once again.

"John." She called out to him, but the gloom rushed in surrounding them, and blocking him from her view. She tried to hold onto his hand as tightly as she could, and reached out blindly through the darkness towards him, but heavy thick bodies rammed against her spinning her away from John's grasp.

Gasping she fell from the chair to the infirmary floor, her hand to her throat.

"What happened, Teyla?" Jennifer asked as she crouched down beside her on the floor.

Then the lights went out plunging the entire Infirmary into pitch blackness.

--

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

--

Rodney tilted his head to a sharp angle and squinted at the barely recognisable, and upside down, Ancient writing that was now part of an old lady's fireplace. She nudged his arm once again and offered him another small cup of the thin weak tea. He took it from her with a polite smile; she looked too like his long lost grandmother for him to refuse her. She smiled and shuffled away again leaving him to his work.

As it turned out the people on this world considered the Ancient site sacred, and considered reusing its stones as a sign of respect. And fortunately for the team they also respected the Ancient script on the stone. In fact each home owner knew exactly where in the ancient site the stones in their home came from. After some describing and a drawing of the site, they were led to a series of homes that contained stones from the room in which Sheppard had been found.

The first stones were facings on the outside of several houses on which the wind and rain had worked away most of the writing, however there were several that were inside and they had been happily invited in to view them. So, here Rodney stood in a small neat little living area before a massive fireplace decorated with several Ancient stones. Most of which were not the right way up.

Rodney squinted at the last line of the first stone. He checked the translation matrix on his tablet again and frowned. The text spoke of a war, a victorious war won by the Ancients, which was interesting as as a rule the ancients were not ones to gloat over warfare. The next stone was on its side, and he scanned in the text with the portable scanner, and watched as the computer set about translating it. At its prompt he corrected some badly scanned symbols by eye and the final translation appeared. He read it through with a growing sense of concern.

It spoke of the end of the war, of the entrapment of the enemies. 'Entrapment' didn't sound good, as trapped things could escape. Maybe escape and attack innocent colonels. He moved on to the next stone and set the translation going again. The old lady approached him again, frowning down at his half emptied tea cup. He smiled politely and picked it up, sipping down the last of it. She smiled, nodded and then refilled it for him and shuffled away again.

A knock preceded the front door opening cautiously and the lead archaeologist peered in. "Dr McKay, any luck?"

"These stones talk about an end to a war and the entrapment of an enemy." The tablet screen flickered and the translation appeared. He read it quickly. "Oh, no. I knew this was going to happen!"

"What does it say?"

Rodney looked up at the red headed freckled man. "It's a warning to never go into that chamber. It says it holds a powerful enemy that must not be released."

"But, it was open long before we arrived here."

"Yes, but Colonel Sheppard may have been the first person with an Ancient gene to walk in there since it was opened. We need to get back to Atlantis."

"There's still one more house with some stones."

"Then we need to scan them quickly. If I'm right, we've unleashed an enemy of the Ancients that they were barely able to contain, and these things are probably going to be really pissed at anything that even looks Ancienty."

--

The emergency lights flickered to life as Ronon dashed into the Control Room. Around him people were pulling out handheld lights and portable desk lamps, spilling fresh light over the darkened consoles.

"What happened to the power?" Ronon demanded as he arrived beside Zelenka who was pouring over a laptop, with Mr Woolsey and Major Lorne at his side.

"We think there's an intruder." Woolsey responded.

"Main power just shut down at the source, ZPM is not responding." Zelenka reported.

"I've got a team heading into the ZPM room to check it out." Lorne added.

"Where's the intruder?" Ronon asked, his hand itching over his weapon against his hip.

Woolsey looked up and over at Lorne. "We're not sure of the nature of the intruder yet."

"Outside I saw a darkness, like a shadow, creeping over the outside of one of the outlying towers. Then the power went down. I doubt it's a coincidence."

Zelenka stood up from his laptop. "In our first week in the city we accidently released a creature that resembled a dark cloud that absorbed energy. Perhaps this is something similar."

"Could it be another one of those dark clouds?" Lorne asked.

"We were able to detect the cloud once we knew what we were looking for and I have already scanned for such a creature and have found none. Actually we believe the cloud was really…."

"Teyla said there was a dark fog in her dream." Ronon interrupted him.

"She also said she felt the darkness obscured something living inside it." Woolsey added.

"Then this is what Sheppard was warning us about." Ronon concluded.

"Well, that may be so, but that doesn't help us very much." Woolsey responded bitterly.

"Mr Woolsey this is Teyla." Her voice crackled over the radio, the signal oddly weak.

"Yes, Teyla."

"I was able to make brief contact with Colonel Sheppard and also with what felt like an army of creatures approaching us." Her voice sounded strained and her breathing agitated. "The Colonel told me to 'stay in the light'."

"These things don't like light; so they took out the power." Ronon said.

"Possibly." Lorne warned.

"Major Lorne, this is Sergeant Miller."

"Report Sergeant." Lorne responded to the English team leader sent to the ZPM room.

"We have found two guards and one scientist in the ZPM room. I'm afraid to report that they didn't make it."

"They're dead? How?" Woolsey demanded.

"There doesn't appear to be any obvious wounds, but they look…like they were terrified when they died, Sir."

"We'll send down a medical team to collect them. Can you restore power, Sergeant?"

"We're trying now Sir…what was that?"

"Sergeant report." Lorne ordered into the radio.

"There's something in the corridor." He cut off as he issued orders to his people and the radio went quiet briefly.

"Sergeant Miller, tell me what's happening." Lorne ordered.

"There's like a shadow filling the corridor, Sir. What the...?" The sound of gunfire filled the radio, momentarily deafening them. "We're under attack, Sir. Something in the darkness….." Another burst of gunfire and then a scream that was abruptly cut off.

"Miller? Anyone from Sergeant Miller's team please respond!" But, nothing came back. "Damn it!" Lorne muttered aggressively.

"We need to cordon off that area, Major." Woolsey added.

"I'm on it, Sir." Lorne said back with stiff determination and suppressed anger in his voice.

"I'll join you." Ronon added and headed out with him.

--

The Infirmary was oddly lit by the emergency lighting and the flicker of moving handheld lights. Teyla pulled over a tall lamp that was connected to the emergency power and switched it on, spilling light over John's bed. He lay as still as ever, though there had been a brief burst of brain waves again during her contact with him he had not moved this time.

"I am with the rest of our people, Teyla. Torren is safe here." Kanaan reported to her over the radio.

"Do you have people to protect you there?" She asked.

"Yes, there are several Atlantis personnel here with us." He reported.

"Alright. Please look after him." She told him.

"I will, Teyla." Kanaan responded and the radio link was interrupted by the latest reports of Lorne's team heading down to the ZPM room.

Teyla listened in, straining to hear over her own heightened breathing and heart rate. She wanted to go and help, or maybe go collect her son, but she knew she was needed here. It felt important to be here with John. Somehow he knew what was going on and had not only warned her, but had told her to stay in the light. She could only hope that had been practical advice that would be helpful. She readjusted the light to cover more of the bed and the surrounding area and then flicked on her handheld light. It was all a little too similar to her dream last night for comfort.

Across the Infirmary Jennifer was tending to several people who had been injured when the lights had gone out. Teyla had pulled back the curtains around John's bed.

"Major Lorne report." Woolsey said over the radio and Teyla turned her attention to the conversation.

"We are at the end of the corridor outside the ZPM room, but the corridor is too dark to see anything. We are proceeding in slowly and carefully. I will keep an open channel."

There was a pause during which she could hear the Major giving orders over the loudness of his own nervous breathing. The team were making their way down the corridor, lighting up the walls with as much light as they could.

"We can see a body here." Lorne added. "It's Lieutenant Ramell. He's dead. His face is contorted, like he was screaming when he died." Lorne reported in a controlled military efficient voice. Someone called out to him then. "Hang on."

There were some agitated voices over the radio, too distant from Lorne to make out clearly over the radio.

"There's a heavy shadow covering the entrance to the ZPM room, the lights can't penetrate into it very far." More voices, growing louder. "There's something in the shadows…" Gunfire broke off his sentence. "Pull back, pull back." Lorne shouted to his team over the gunfire.

A high pitched scream could be heard in the distance. Across the Infirmary several people froze, eyes turning to one another as they heard what was happening.

"Major?" Woolsey cried out.

"We've pulled back to the closest door and sealed it shut, sir." He was panting.

"What happened?"

"There's creatures or something in the darkness. They attacked one of my people."

"Caught him up by his head, he screamed and just dropped to the floor." Ronon added, his voice also broken by his raised breathing. Relief at hearing her dear friend alive made Teyla relax for a single brief moment.

"What did the creature look like?" Woolsey asked.

"We didn't get a good look, but it seemed to have wings, and definitely claws." Lorne responded.

"Is your position secure, Major?"

"Yes, for the time being. But, we're not going to be able to get to the ZPM at this rate."

"Hold your position and we'll see if we can come up with an alternative plan." Woolsey replied and the radio silenced finally.

Teyla looked back down at John and willed him to wake once again.

--

"We need a plan." Ronon stated to Lorne from across the corridor in which they were both crouched, eyes directed towards the closed door several metres away.

"They'll think of something." Lorne replied.

Ronon shook his head. "These things wouldn't cut off the power and then just sit there waiting for us to try and turn it back on. They'll attack now that they're in control."

Lorne looked over at him worriedly and paused. "The shadow I saw was outside near the end of the pier, there's no way this could be the same batch."

Ronon narrowed his eyes and Lorne activated his radio again. "Sir, have you had any more reports of other shadows in the city?"

"No, Major." Someone responded.

"Then can someone go out on the balcony up there and look at the tower I told you about?"

"Hold on one second."

Lorne and Ronon sat waiting, eyes on the doorway and minds imagining what could be going on on the other side of that doorway and of their fallen comrades beyond.

"Sir, we have spotted two large…shadows moving across the city. One is at the base of the main tower and may be entering as we speak."

"We need to gather non-essential personnel together in the Gate Room, in the event that we may need to evacuate to the Alpha Site." Lorne ordered.

"Yes, Sir."

Ronon looked over that the worried Major. "We can't just sit here and wait."

After a moment's thought, Lorne turned to his team. "Hold this position, if it comes through just back off. Keep me informed of any changes."

"Yes, Sir."

Ronon and Lorne ran down the corridor towards the main stairway of the tower.

--

"We need to evacuate everyone to the Gate Room." Jennifer ordered as the nurses set about assisting the patients out of the door following their military escort.

Teyla finished attaching the lamp to the head of John's bed as Jennifer fixed the BP monitor to its side. They were going to take him up to the Gate Room and Teyla would join Kanaan and her people there as well. She ached to hold her son.

With everything ready they pushed John's bed across the now empty Infirmary and entered the darkened corridor. They both kept looking down at the displays of John's life signs as they went. Teyla tightened her hold on the bed railing, the cold metal slipping slightly under her sweating palms.

A brief tingle on the back of her neck caught her attention and she looked back the way they had come, her eyes scanning the darkened corners of the hallway.

"Hold up!" Some called out from the head of the Infirmary procession.

Teyla and Jennifer stopped John's bed and stood necks craning to see what was ahead. A scratching sound drew Teyla's attention back to the hallway behind them. The guard with them saw the direction of her gaze and turned his P90's light down the corridor. Nothing stirred, but Teyla could feel the minds looking at them. Judging by the radio chatter the shadows had appeared throughout the city.

"We need some more light this end." The guard called out, shocking Teyla briefly.

After a long beat another soldier appeared carrying a large handheld lamp that burst a bright ray of light down the corridor highlighting the walls clearly. Yet, at the far end of where the light touched something moved. Teyla watched the darkness at the end of the light and saw it shift away from the light beam.

"Did you see that?" Jennifer asked anxiously from the other side of the bed.

"Yes. They are out there." Teyla replied.

"What can we do?" Jennifer asked. "The light didn't help Miller's team."

"This is a seriously powerful lamp, Doctor. If they don't like light, they'll not want to approach us with this on them." The soldier responded calmly.

Teyla wondered if he was right. "Why have we stopped?" She asked quietly.

He turned to look over his shoulder at her. "There's more shadows reported up ahead. They're thinking of taking us straight to the Jumper Bay, and then we can go through the Gate via Jumper that way. It might be easier with the Colonel anyway." He added his eyes dropping to John's bed briefly before he turned back to the distant darkness.

Teyla looked down at John again. The creatures had broken her connection with John, which must mean that he could tell her something important, or why waste their time?

"Why did they kill the others, but leave John like this?" She asked Jennifer.

The Doctor turned, her eyes wide with fear, but her interest caught. "Maybe they need him alive for something."

Teyla looked down at John's pale face, the dark light made him appear even sicker. "I need to speak to him again."

"You said they attacked you last time." Jennifer said.

"They did so to break my connection with John, which must mean there is something he could tell me. Help us somehow to stop these creatures and to help him."

Jennifer frowned. "These things are even closer now than before, it might be dangerous for you to try."

"What else is there to do? I need to help him if I can, help all of us."

Jennifer reluctantly nodded, but Teyla was already slowly her breathing and drawing her awareness inwards. She drew in another breath and settled inwards once again and opened up that deep enclosed part of her.

She felt them instantly, like insects climbing over the walls around her. So instead she forced the image of her once again standing out on the pier with John in the direct sunlight. Again she breathed life into the image of him, feeling his presence, drawing in his scent. He stood with his back to her, his eyes out across the water. She followed his gaze and saw the cloud of darkness hanging over the water, surrounding them on all sides, but the sun still fell down on them from above, apparently holding the darkness back.

She reached out and caught hold of John's wrist, his skin warm and almost real under her fingers. He turned to her, as beyond the noise from the cloud increased dramatically.

"Teyla." He called to her over the growing sound. Above them the sunlight began to dim, the darkness closing in.

"John, help us." She called.

The darkness was pressing in around them, like a black tunnel closing in, the sunlight now only an over head light that was gradually being shut away. John reached for her wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against his chest. She fell against him, pressing her cheek to his throat as the darkness surrounded them completely. A boisterous wind began to howl around them, and like a swamp of insects the clouds grazed against her back and arms.

John pulled her tighter to him, one hand sliding up her back to cup the back of her neck. The touch of skin to skin was hot and instant in its reaction, and the gloom shifted away from them slightly. She pressed her face tighter to the skin of his throat and closed her eyes, feeling the connection between them growing and the cloud pulling back. It was still so dark around them, the wind buffering against them, but together they kept their feet planted and held onto each other.

John shifted his mouth down to her ear. "They're from those damn Iratus bugs, a mistake like the Wraith. They need to feed like Wraith…." The wind suddenly gathered in strength again, pushing at them. John gasped against her, and jerked back from her. She tried to hold onto him, screaming out through the howling wind.

"John!" She screamed, her voice echoing down Atlantis' hallway as she fell back against the wall behind her and almost slipped to the floor.

A helpful hand to her left steadied her. "Teyla, are you okay?" Jennifer called out from across John.

After a moment through which she gathered her breath again she stood up. She nodded to Jennifer and then activated her radio. "Mr Woolsey, I have some more information on these creatures from John."

"What'd he say?" Ronon demanded first over the open channel, his voice agitated and in the background she could hear shouting and gunfire.

Teyla didn't bother to wait for Woolsey to respond, she knew he would hear her. "They are similar to Wraith, they were a mistake created by the Ancients when humans came into contact with the Iratus bug. John tried to tell me something about that they need to feed like Wraith, but our connection was broken."

"What would explain why you can sense them, like you do with the Wraith." Major Lorne responded over the radio.

"It is interesting that Colonel Sheppard was infected with the Iratus retrovirus." Jennifer wondered out loud.

"You think that is why they didn't kill him?" Woolsey finally joined the conversation.

"I don't know, but I wonder if that is why he can connect with Teyla now. Both of them have a relationship through their connection to the Wraith and the Iratus bug. It's a theory." She replied.

"But Doctor Beckett said John was completely returned to normal following his infection with the retrovirus." Teyla pointed out.

"True, but you have to wonder if you can ever truly return to normal after having your DNA manipulated in such a way." The Doctor replied.

Teyla's thoughts turned to her people, and most especially Kanaan, who had been returned to their apparent normal selves following their conversion by Michael. Were they really their old selves? It was a problem to be considered at another time.

"Regardless, how can this new information help us at all?" Woolsey asked.

"The bugs liked the darkness too." Ronon responded. "Maybe they have the same kind of weaknesses."

"We could try salt water on them, but it's not very practical." Lorne commented. "The problem is that they're so fast, we can't tell if they took any damaging hits from the P90s because their obscured by their dark shadow. We might be able to hurt them if we had some way to stay alive long enough to try it."

"We didn't have much luck against the bugs, what chance have we got against the flying nightmare version?" Zelenka added to the conversation, perhaps by accident. Teyla could envision Mr Woolsey glaring at him forcefully.

"If I could contact John again, I might be able to find out more information." Teyla suggested.

"For now the heavy watt lamps and P90s are keeping them back, but we don't know for how much longer that could be." Lorne added. "They've infiltrated the main tower and may have taken nest, or whatever, further out in the city."

The skittering sound echoed down the corridor again to Teyla's left. The soldier hefted the lamp spilling the light down towards the darkness. They watched for a moment. Then Teyla noticed that the darkness was creeping up along the ceiling, and along the walls around the distant beam of light.

"They are approaching." Teyla shouted.

The other guard with them lifted his P90. "Weapons fire." He announced a second before he opened fire. The darkness swirled briefly, pulling back slightly, but began to advance slowly once again.

"There are enough of them to push forward despite our fire and the light." Teyla whispered. She could feel a distant sense of determination from them and that they would do anything to get to their food source.

"We need to move, now!"

--

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

--

Rodney and the rest of the team hurried as fast as they could through the hot sunlight back towards the tunnel system. Rodney rechecked his tablet, knowing nothing would have changed, but he did it anyway to help him pass the time. They had run some of the way, but there was no point in them dehydrating themselves to the point where they would be no use at the other end of their journey. So they now walked at a brisk pace, barely talking to each other to conserve their energy.

Finally the basin came into view and Rodney broke into a run, something he rarely did, towards the entrance he needed. The sun was even hotter here, but soon enough they were at the tunnel entrance and the cool air inside came as a beautiful reward. Rodney only took a moment to enjoy the sensation and ploughed on towards the right room.

The last time he had been here he had been searching desperately for any clues for what had happened to Sheppard. And the time before that he had come in to find his friend unconscious. Now he had a plan though. It might not save Sheppard, but it would hopefully stop the potential imminent threat from another enemy of the Ancients.

They stepped into the fateful room, their boots echoing on the stone floor.

"Where is it then?" Someone demanded.

Rodney shone his light over each wall in turn, studying each possible line or crack in the stone, but to no avail. He then tilted the light upwards to the distant ceiling, the light shining over the blank stone.

"We checked this place over several times the last time we were here. There's nothing hidden in the walls that we can see." The same man continued.

"Well, we missed something." Rodney responded, following every seam of rock in the ceiling above them.

"It might not be here anymore."

"Of course its here, where else would they have escaped from?" Rodney responded.

The ceiling was clear so he paused. Where else could it be? He looked straight up at the ceiling and watched the light layer of dust dancing through the beam of light. It was amazing how dust could be found almost anywhere he mused. Here is was rock dust or something.

He turned the light downwards to the floor beneath his feet. A light layer of sandy dust had been kicked in from the tunnel into the room by all their boots and he brushed some of it aside with the toe of a boot. The dust swept aside and he could make out the meeting of dark and light stone following an unnatural line.

"Anyone got a brush?" Rodney asked.

"Yes, in my tool kit." The red headed archaeologist replied and set about pulling it out.

Rodney dropped to his knees, held the light between his teeth and he used his hands to wipe aside the sand from the floor. A brush appeared by his shoulder and he took it with a grunt and began to clear the floor with long brush strokes, his eyes half closed against the swirling cloud of dust. To his side another archaeologist had his brush out and was clearing it away as well.

After a few minutes of brushing and sweeping out of the sandy dust, the dark blue circle on the floor was revealed. They stood over it looking down at it in silence.

"It's just decoration." Someone said.

"No, no, its not." Rodney replied as he dropped back down to the stone floor and pulled out his Ancient device and began to scan the floor. "See its two types of stone set together."

"It looks like a Stargate." Someone else commented.

"It looks like our portal." Rodney replied as he pulled out his tablet.

--

"They're in the Jumper Bay, repeat they are in the Jumper Bay." Someone shouted down the radio, drawing the Infirmary party to a halt once again.

"Where do we go now?" Jennifer asked.

The two soldiers now beside Teyla exchanged a look with her.

"We have to get to the Gate Room." Teyla stated.

"We could go down two flights, around and back up to the other side of the Gate Room." One suggested. "The way should be clear."

Teyla looked down at John at the same time as Jennifer did and then they both looked up at each other. "We will be unable to take the bed with us." Teyla stated.

Jennifer chewed on her bottom lip for a moment.

"You said he is mostly breathing by himself." Teyla asked.

"That was when we put him on the ventilator three weeks ago, who knows how he will respond off it now."

"We will have to take the chance." Teyla stated. "He is strong." As far as she had heard over the radio everyone had made their way to the Gate Room, she had to assume that Torren was safely there with Kanaan and the rest of her people. She had to focus on getting these people to safety, on getting John to safety.

"I can take what I need with me." Jennifer replied; all action now as she began to sling bags over her shoulders that had been hanging from the edge of John's bed. "But, we will need to carry him."

"I'll carry him." A large burly soldier stated moving towards them, handing over his weapon to Teyla and he began to pull off his vest. She took it with a nod and a grateful smile. He was a marine she remembered, named Bryson. She pulled on the overly large vest and clipped the weapon to her front. It felt good to have a weapon back in her hands.

She watched as Jennifer and a nurse readied John to be moved. Then all together they watched as Jennifer lifted her hand to the ventilator's power button. Her eyes lifted to Teyla's and she saw the question there.

"Do it, Jennifer. He would want this." She told the Doctor confident in the truth of her words. Though, she suspected John would have ordered them all to leave him behind had he been able.

Jennifer flicked the switch and the ventilator gave one last wheeze of air and then stopped. All eyes turned to John and they waited. Soon enough his chest rose again, this time of its own accord. Relief flooded through Teyla as she watched Jennifer remove the tube from his throat and they wrapped the blankets around him and helped Bryson fireman lift him over his shoulder. Teyla watched at the display of strength and then they were off.

They moved as fast as they could down the stairs. Teyla took up the rear, her eyes covering every nook and cranky of shadow as they headed down the tower. In front of her Jennifer kept checking John from where he hung down Bryson's back. She appeared satisfied that he was still breathing okay, so Teyla kept her attention on keeping them all alive on their way to the Gate Room.

--

The dark clouds danced over the ceiling above them, and Ronon shot into the thick of it once again, enjoying the responding shrieking sound that he brought forth. Beside him Lorne pounded out another burst of fire from his P90.

Behind them the last of the personnel ran through the corridors towards the Gate Room. Ronon had made sure to be on the group that collected the Athosians. He wanted to make damn sure that little Torren was safe for Teyla. As it turned out the Athosian's luck was still not too good, as they had been cut off from their escape route. So Lorne and Ronon's team headed in to guide them out.

"That means they've pretty much pushed us all back to the Gate Room." Lorne shouted over the gunfire. Over his shoulder a young scientist shone a vibrantly bright lamp down the corridor, which seemed to still be slowing the darkness' approach. Ronon didn't look at Lorne; he kept his eyes solidly on the enemy. They were relentless, pushing forward, their hiding gloom flowing before them, their claws slicing out to take down someone or to lift them up to be… whatever they did to them. The corpses certainly hadn't been drained like a Wraith would have done, but they still ended the same way.

"They're herding us together." Ronon shouted back.

"They want the city then." Lorne shouted back.

"That or they're going to eat as all in one go." Ronon suggested.

"Our last group are through to the Gate Room, Sir." A marine shouted out from behind them.

"Okay, let's pull back." Lorne ordered.

As one group they began to edge their way backwards down the corridor. Ronon hated this; it felt too much like a retreat, like surrender. But, these people had to be saved and at this rate these things were going to push their way forward despite the number of bullets fed into the heavy gloom.

They reached a junction and to their left they heard more gunfire. Then people were rushing past, guards with them.

"This is the group from the Infirmary." Someone informed Lorne.

"Teyla and Sheppard?" Ronon called over his shoulder.

"We are here, Ronon." Teyla replied herself as she arrived at his shoulder. With more hands on site, Ronon risked a glance at her. She looked tired, but well. Then he saw Bryson pass with Sheppard slung over his shoulder.

"We had to abandon the bed two flights up." She informed him. "He is breathing on his own."

"Did he wake again?"

"No. But, I was able to contact him again. I am sure he has more information he was trying to tell me."

At that point the darkness rushed forward again. All weapons lifted up and fired into the approaching rush of alien screams and flittering wings from within the darkness.

"Fall back!" Lorne shouted once again. The large group began to step backwards. Teyla laid a hand on Ronon's shoulder, silently guiding him backwards with her, so he did not have to look away from their enemy. Ronon mused once again how he had missed her at his side during a fight.

--

The Gate Room was full of people and weapons fire. The remaining non military personnel to be evacuated were all crowded into the centre of the room, the soldiers surrounding them, protecting them from the darkness.

The second thing that Teyla noticed was the sound of her son crying over the gunfire. Her group merged into the crowd and she made her way to where Kanaan was cradling Torren to him. Teyla took her son over with tears in her eyes, hugging him to her in absolute relief. Torren instantly calmed, his tiny hands clutching at her face. She looked back up to Kanaan and the smiles of her people around him.

"You are all well?" She asked.

"As good as can be expected." Halling said with a smile.

"Good." Teyla replied. "We will find a way out of this." She reassured them. She turned back towards the Stargate realising for the first time that it was not activated. "Why have you not been sent through the Gate with the others that have been evacuated?"

Halling turned and pointed up towards the Control Room, or rather where the Control Room should have been through the gloomy dark cloud. "They sent through the previous group and then the darkness attacked them. The gate was shut down and we have no way of activating it from here."

Teyla lifted her eyes up towards the Jumper Bay entrance set into the ceiling, and saw that the dark fog was seeping through above them. They were in trouble. She looked back to her people and saw the acceptance in their eyes. They did not expect to survive this. Well, she would not stand for that.

"There is a way and I will find it." She stated as she handed Torren gently back over to Kanaan. "I will be back." She told them and began to make her way back through the crowd towards Bryson and Jennifer. She arrived to find Jennifer checking John's vitals where he now lay on the floor. She looked up when Teyla arrived by her side and nodded.

"He's still with us."

"Good. We need him." Teyla stated as she sat down next to Jennifer.

"Are you going to try to contact him again?" Jennifer asked.

Teyla nodded as she reached for John, she worked her hands under him and lifted his heavy upper body onto her lap and them up into her arms, cradling him against her. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes to the fear and battle around them and focused inwards.

The noise of the gunfire and shouting drifted into the background and she focused on her breathing and the feel of John in her arms. She focused on the light pressure of his breathing against her, drawing to her his smell, the coolness of his weakened body. She dropped her forehead down to touch against his and pictured him well again. She willed life into him, imagined his breathing deeper and stronger, his skin warm and resistant, his breath over her skin, his spirit touching hers.

She knew the darkness was watching her, looking for a way to attack again, but she ignored it and thought only of John. She thought back to how he moved, how he spoke, the exact colour of his eyes, eyes she hadn't seen for weeks. She remembered his smile, the way he had hugged her when she had been pregnant, how he had supported her when she had almost fallen. All this she remembered and she drew him tighter against her chest, calling out to him to speak to her and to return to them, to help them.

He sighed, his breath hot over her cheek and she smiled. The sunlight glowed around them, but all she was aware of was the touch of him, alive and naked against her. She pressed her body against his, feeling the connection between them soaring into life.

"John." She whispered in delight and relief.

His chest shifted against hers and his bare arms around her drew her even closer to him. She nestled her cheek into his shoulder, the light of their connection filling the air around them so that the sounds and presence of the darkness disappeared completely from her awareness. All that existed was John against her naked skin.

"They're psychic creatures." John whispered against her ear. "They feed on that. They love fear, it draws them in. Be strong, Teyla."

"Come back to us, John." She said against his skin.

"Please be strong, Teyla." He whispered again.

"Why did they do this to you?" She asked, trying to deny the sensation that he didn't expect to return to life again.

"They were almost free, after centuries of capture and struggling to be free, they found a way. They thought I was an Ancient and attacked me, sort of locked my mind inside me so I wouldn't be able to tell anyone what happened and how to stop them."

"How can we stop them?" Teyla asked, desperately wanting the knowledge, but unwilling to end this time with him.

"There's a device back in that room where you found me, the Ancient's made it. It draws them in and keeps them contained in like a prison made just for them. They have to be stopped Teyla, they will kill everything."

"Come back and help me stop them." She said, as she tried to pull back from him to look up into his face. As she pulled away the connection between them lessened.

He tightened his arms around her for a moment longer, pressing their naked bodies tightly together. "Be strong, Teyla."

And then he released her and pulled away and Teyla slumped forward over his limp body, the gunfire and shouting returning with full force to her awareness. Jennifer's gentle hands were helping her, trying to pull her up and John away from her. Teyla sat upright and tightened her hold on John. Fearfully she looked down at him and waited a beat and in relief saw his chest was still rising and falling; he was still alive.

"Be strong, John." She whispered to him.

She looked up through slightly teary eyes, to see that she already had a small audience, at the centre of which was Kanaan holding Torren. His eyes were tight and dark as he looked down at her.

"Everybody." She called out as loudly as she could. "Everybody, you must listen." The gunfire lessened slightly. "These creatures in the gloom are like Wraith, but their feed on psychic energy, they will drain your mind and your spirit completely. But, that is their weakness. They want our fear. Look out on them and refuse them that. We give them strength by our fear. We must be strong. Be strong and focus your determination to win and to live at all costs."

She watched as the people around her all turned away, turned to the gloom that now surrounded them on all sides.

"We are strong." Teyla said again. "We will not be defeated by fear. We are strong."

"We are strong!" Ronon shouted out with passion.

Some laughed at that and cheered. Around them the darkness stopped its advance and retreated slightly.

"We are all strong." Ronon shouted again.

"We will stay in the light." Teyla said loudly. Then quietly she whispered to herself "I am strong" as she tightened her hold on John once again.

Then behind her the Stargate began to light up, the symbols flashing and spinning round. People moved back from the area in front of the gate and after a moment the event horizon spilled out into the room. For a moment Teyla feared the force field would be up, but there was no telltale shimmer.

Rodney strode through the gate, his eyes widening in surprise at the people all gathered so close to the gate. His eyes lifted up to the darkness surrounding the room and turned back to the gate as the rest of the team came through carrying what appeared to be a large ring of stone.

Around the room the darkness screamed, the creatures' mutated Wraith like features appearing briefly in fear and the gloom began to retreat out of the room.

Rodney turned to where the stone circle was now lying on the floor and he quickly inserted the cable from his tablet into it and the lights that had previously simply looked like a part of the rock flared to life. The creatures screamed again from outside the Gate Room, echoing down the hallways as the circle began to hum, the vibration shaking out through the floor. Teyla held John tightly to her, and looked up to check that Kanaan still had Torren safely.

The hum of the stone circle reached a crescendo and abruptly the darkness rushed back into the room, but now at a fast speed that passed over them all and down directly into the circle on the floor. Everyone ducked down as the gloom passed over head. The wind danced Teyla's hair around her face as she turned to see the darkness disappearing into the circle. The device John had spoken about no doubt. Thank the Ancestors for Rodney McKay.

The rush ended with the last screaming exit of the last of the darkness. The hum of the circle continued until Rodney sat back up from the floor and pressed something on his tablet and finally the room fell into silence.

"Is that it Doctor McKay? Are they gone?" Someone asked from the crowd.

Rodney realising he had an audience, turned and stood up. "Yep, the Ancients created this device to capture and hold them."

Mr Woolsey clambered to his feet looking rather windswept, "Are you sure they won't escape again?"

"No, they won't because this time we are going to dispose of this thing correctly. No setting it into a floor." He muttered with disgust.

A cheer went up at this point as the realisation hit everyone. They had survived and it was over. Teyla sighed out in relief and then realised that John was moving slightly.

"John?" She asked. Jennifer dropped down beside her, pen light in her hand. Rodney and Ronon appeared beside her, all eyes turned down to John.

Jennifer pulled up one of John's eyelids and shone the light into it. He pulled back abruptly and weakly tried to push her away. "Stop it!" He muttered.

"Hey Sheppard, you with us?" Ronon called out cheerfully.

John blinked open his eyes slowly, squinting up at them through eyes that had been closed for weeks. "We get them then?" He asked his voice weak.

They laughed joyfully at the return of their team mate. "Yep, we got 'em, thanks to McKay here." Ronon replied as he smacked Rodney on the back, almost toppling him over.

John looked up at Rodney. "Good going, Rodney." He sounded so tired.

"Well, you guys held it together until I could get here." Rodney replied in an uncharacteristic moment of humility.

"Yes, they did." John muttered as he turned his head towards Teyla. "You did great."

Teyla smiled at him where he lay in her arms still. "It is good to have you back, John."

"It's good to be back." He replied as his eyes drooped closed for a moment. "Bit tired though." He muttered and his eyes closed again. Teyla held her breath for a moment. Jennifer leant in and laid a hand to John's throat.

"He's just sleeping this time." She reported. "Let's get him back to the Infirmary."

"Don't know why he needs sleep, you'd have thought he'd had enough rest after three weeks in bed." Rodney muttered. Teyla allowed the nurses to extract John from her arms, lifting his warmth away from her arms, leaving her feeling cool and tired. She needed sleep of her own. She felt certain that tonight she would have no problem sleeping deeply and soundly.

She climbed to her feet and Kanaan stepped forward with a wriggling Torren. She willingly scooped her child into her arms and held him close, rocked him with relief. "Thank you Kanaan for taking such good care of him." She whispered.

Kanaan regarded her for a few moments. "It was you who saved him Teyla, not me."

"We all play our part." She replied.

Kanaan's gaze moved over to where John was being loaded onto a new bed to be transported back to the Infirmary. "Some more than others." He replied softly.

Teyla wasn't sure what to say to that, her feelings suddenly confused following her connection with John and how Kanaan may have felt seeing her holding John for so long. "Kanaan…" She started.

He lifted a hand. "Teyla, we all need to rest and to recover. Do you want to take Torren back to your quarters?" She nodded, suspecting that she wouldn't want her son to be out of her arms for quite some time. "Then go get some sleep, Teyla. We will talk tomorrow."

--

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

--

The Infirmary was busier the next morning as various people received further treatment following yesterday's events. Many of the people Teyla passed looked tired and she suspected many had not slept well last night.

She made her way to the end of the Infirmary towards John's bed, and noticed the glorious lack of bleeping machines and the rushing of the ventilator. The curtains were partially pulled back and as she rounded the corner she found both Rodney and Ronon sitting by John's bedside. All three looked up as she arrived.

"Hey, Teyla." John greeted her with a smile and his eyes dropped to Torren in her arms. "And you brought my namesake as well."

"We both wanted to check you were feeling better."

"Can't shut him up." Rodney replied for John. "He's wanted a moment by moment account of the past three weeks."

"Hey, you can't blame a guy for wanting to know what I missed." John said back. "And I missed out on all the action."

"Ronon's given you an exaggerated action movie description, you should be happy." Rodney complained back.

Teyla exchanged a smile with Ronon at their two happy friends. Ronon jumped out of his seat and waved Teyla to it and headed off to bring in another chair. She thanked him as he passed and settled down in the vacated chair by John's elbow. He smiled at her as she sat down, his eyes softening as they dropped to Torren.

"It's good to see the little guy made it through it all okay." He said to her.

"Do you want to hold him?" Teyla asked, suspecting that it would help his worry over the infant.

"Okay." He replied quickly, like he had been wanting to ask.

She handed Torren over to John, watching as what always happened when she handed him to a man that her son looked smaller in the larger masculine arms. John settled Torren along one arm and arranged the blanket away from his face slightly. Teyla loved to see her friends handle her son, especially as it reminded her of the love that her son was privy to here in Atlantis. These really were good people and she honestly felt that she and her son belonged here, at least for now.

John looked up from Torren to her again, his expression unreadable for a moment. She smiled and he smiled back. He didn't hold Torren that often, so it was good to see him so willing and happy to hold her son now.

Ronon reappeared with a chair and loudly placed it down next to Rodney's making the scientist jump. John began talking with the guys about something, but Teyla tuned it out. She reached forward and caught one of Torren's feet in her fingers, using the excuse to lean forward and drink in John's presence. He was awake and fully alive once again. Images returned for a moment from their connection together. It had been so powerful, so real and so intimate that it felt strange now to no longer have the possibility of that connection. And she wondered how much of it John remembered.

She released Torren's foot and sat back, turning her attention to the conversation. It was clear that they were all relieved and happy that John was once again with them. And John for his part though looking tired and thinner than normal, was himself once again. She sighed with pleasure; her family was back together again.

--

Kanaan took his son back into his arms and looked down at Teyla. She looked tired still despite a good night's rest. Not that he had slept too well himself. He had been plagued with thoughts, not concerned with the darkness nightmarish creatures, but with the image of Teyla cradling Colonel Sheppard to her, her forehead pressed to his as she worked her gift to save them all.

Seeing her like that; saving them all, fighting and strong, it had reminded him how infrequently he had seen this side of her. Though they had grown up together, he had not seen her so emotional, yet so powerful. She had always been a strong woman, even as a child her will and grace had been clear. Now, after years with these people from Earth who now live in the City of the Ancestors, her power had only grown.

Though she had left her people for the most part, given over her role as Leader, she was still very much a leader. She commanded people not through force of will, but through the knowledge that she was in control, that she would strive to do the best for everyone. Even in the heart of battle and near death she had been able to sink into a meditative state and connect with Colonel Sheppard.

She had explained how the creatures had enclosed the Colonel's mind and that had enabled them to communicate. Kanaan wasn't sure he understood all of that and he wasn't sure that her explanation made sense. Her friendship with the Colonel had been a niggling worry in his mind for the last month that he had been living in the city. It was clear to him that the Colonel didn't want him there. There was something in the man's eyes that told Kanaan that the man felt more for Teyla than he admitted. Teyla was apparently unaware, and Kanaan wasn't going to tell her. Was that due to fear on his part? Fear that she wouldn't choose him?

He couldn't use what Michael had done to him as an excuse, as it appeared it meant nothing to her, she was glad to have her people back. So Kanaan had pushed his fears aside, but then yesterday he had seen her holding Sheppard. He had seen the smile on her face whilst her eyes had been closed as she contacted the Colonel, and then the tears in them when she had opened them. Then Doctor McKay had arrived and trapped the creatures and the Colonel woke up from his coma. Woke up in Teyla's arms.

Kanaan had watched as Teyla's team all crowded around Sheppard, all so obviously happy to be back together. They were all a powerful force together and it was clear to Kanaan that they all loved each other. It was a connection that he could never really appreciate in its entirety and he doubted he would be willing to sacrifice what these people had in the past to achieve it. These people had fought alongside each other for years, seen horrors and supported each other through who knew what. It was something Kanaan could not compete with.

Teyla may not wish to be with Colonel Sheppard over him, but it was clear to Kanaan that she had a love for Sheppard, forged through their team experiences and friendship, that Kanaan would never be able to share with her. It was a love that he could not match and he did not want to. He didn't want to be second best to that connection. Second best to her team.

He watched her pulling on her Atlantis uniform jacket. He looked around them at the Athosian furniture, fabrics and candles. She had recreated her Athosian tent here, but this was her home now and these people her family.

"Teyla?" He called to her. She turned to him. "We need to talk."

--

The balcony door slid open and John carefully made his way outside. The sea breeze flattened his Infirmary gown against his body, but the air was warm enough to be comfortable. He gripped hold of the doorframe and used it to help him walk slowly out into the light. His body protested, but he pushed himself. He needed to get his body moving again, get back into shape.

Over the threshold of the doorway he paused to catch his breath. Man, he was so weak! But, then he had been flat on his back for three weeks. He began moving again, unwilling to give the nurse nervously following him any excuse to drag him back to his bed. He wanted some space and to get some fresh air.

Using his arms as support on the back of the nearest chair he made his way around it and finally sat down on the chair. Alright fall down might have been a more accurate description, but the point was that he had made it. He took a breath and swung his legs up on the stool and wiggled his backside into the chair. Finally in place he looked back over his shoulder, and the nurse smiled and left, the door closing behind him. She would be back soon he suspected, but for now, he would enjoy the time alone and the view.

He closed his eyes for a moment and told his aching body to relax. Tight tired muscles released and the aching faded into the distance. He drew in the cool breeze and was thankful once again that he was free. The creatures were gone, but he guessed they would play a starring role in his nightmares for awhile.

Behind him the balcony door opened again and he looked round disbelievingly; his time couldn't be up so soon? However, it wasn't the Nurse, but Teyla.

"Hello, John." She said with a soft smile, her eyes studying his face, no doubt assessing how he was feeling.

He pushed aside the usual feelings at seeing her, though that now included a wealth of strange images from their psychic connection. Feeling tense once again he pushed himself to smile up at her. "Hey, Teyla."

"Do you mind if I join you?"

He waved to the chair beside him, noting that his arm was aching as he did so.

"The Nurse told me you had come out here for some fresh air." She said as she settled down in the seat next to him.

He looked out at the waters below the main tower. "Needed some space, and since Doctor Keller won't let me out of the Infirmary yet, this was the next best thing."

"It will no doubt take time to recover your full strength, John." She said kindly.

"I know. I'm just not used to feeling so…helpless." He found himself confessing.

They lapsed into silence, through which he kept his eyes out across the cityscape below them. He felt nervous and emotionally exposed next to her. They had shared a strange experience together and though she may be used to psychic experiences it was all new for him. That and the oddly intimate nature of their connections made him feel vulnerable. It wasn't a feeling he was used to and he didn't like it one bit.

"I wanted to thank you, John." She started. He knew she had come here for this, but he didn't really want to have to relive what had happened.

"We all played our part, Teyla." He said as he looked at her briefly.

"But, you found a way…" She said.

"You were the one to contact me, Teyla. I just told you what I knew, you told the others and it was Rodney who found the prison stone circle thingy. We're a team and we all worked together."

She looked into his eyes for a moment and then smiled and nodded. "Yes. We all worked together." Whether she understood that he didn't want to talk about it, or that she had accepted his dismissal of her words he wasn't sure. "But, thank you for your part." She added.

He had to smile at that and chuckled lightly. "Fine. And thank you for your part." He replied. Moments of that connection returned to his mind, a powerful experience that he wasn't entirely sure what to do with. He remembered the feel of her against him, her mind entangled with his and for a moment he allowed himself to enjoy it and to gaze at her in the sunshine. Then he looked away and pushed the emotions aside.

"How are your people?" He asked. She paused too long and he looked round at her.

"They are well." She replied, and looked away. "Though many are not sleeping too well." She added with a forced smile as she looked back at him. He wondered if he was missing something, but guessed she would tell him if she wanted him to know.

"Can't say I'm surprised." He added.

"How long does Doctor Keller believe you will have to remain in the Infirmary?" She asked.

"Maybe till the end of the week, but I plan to be such a pain in the ass that she will let me out sooner."

Teyla laughed lightly. "Poor Jennifer."

"Poor me, stuck in here. And Rodney keeps coming over and telling me all about the research on the stone circle. I don't need to hear all that; I can barely understand half of what he's saying."

"He is happy to have you back with us, John. We all are." She said.

"I know. It's good to be back, to be free again." He looked up at the open sky above them, drinking in the space and the light and tried not to think about what he had gone through. He shivered slightly, his skin growing colder in the breeze. He worked to push aside the remaining fears, and as he always did he pulled himself together. Just another day at the office. But, it seemed to him that everyday here brought more stress, more pain and more heartache.

"Are you alright, John?" Teyla asked.

He blinked and looked round, putting on a smile for her. "Sure, just tired. I think I've had my fill of fresh air for now." He struggled upright and swung his feet down to the cold floor. She stood and reached down to help him up, on any other day he would have waved her off, but the trembling weakness of his straining leg muscles advised him to accept her assistance. Her warm hand slid around his arm, the thin fabric blocking her skin from his. For a moment he had the urge to reach out and touch her skin again, to seek out that connection again, to see if it still existed between them. But, he didn't. He kept his hands to himself. But, he had to wonder.

--

In the furthest outlying tower of a pier, in a tiny cupboard of a room a patch of darkness stirred. The last remaining creature still clung to the walls that surrounded it. Its claws ached from its fear grip for purchase. It reached out again to its fellows, but none responded and in the distance it could still sense the presence of the portal that had been its prison for so very long. It tightened its hold on the walls, drawing itself tighter up into the high corner of the tiny room. It would wait. It wasn't sure what it would do, but it would wait. Allow its strength to return and then it would find a way to free its kind and then they would wreak final vengeance on these weak children of the Ancestors. Soon, very soon.

--

END


End file.
